Ambiguous Heros
by Defiant Nefelibata
Summary: Rocket has a bad habit of making weapons of mass destruction, Drax snores (loudly), Peter can't sing (at all), Groot has surprisingly good dance moves for being stuck in a pot, and Gamora can kick all of their butts at poker. That's five ex-criminals very recently turned Guardians of the Galaxy, crammed into one tiny spaceship with only one bathroom. Oh my. One-shots of all kinds!
1. Chapter 1

**I've said it before and I'll say it again I hate my mind. The bunnies have done a hostile take over of my brain and produced about a dozen GotG one-shots, so this is an attempt to purge them with fire and get them out. I know I should be working on my transformers fics but I just can't help myself. Read and Enjoy!**

**Disclaimers: I no own, so you no sue!**

_'__Why can I not go one damn week without some crazy bastard trying to kill me?' _Peter Quill, Star-Lord and unofficial leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, thought angrily to himself as he ducked to avoid the blaster fire that was aimed at his head.

The answer to that question was usually complex of course because Peter had been attacked for many different reasons over his life traveling through space. He had made a lot of enemies as a thief, and some of those people really didn't like having their stuff taken. Other times it was his red Ravager coat just catching the wrong kind of attention. More commonly it was his cocky attitude and big mouth that got him neck deep in trouble. This time however it was none of those things, much to Peter's surprise and quickly growing annoyance.

He was quickly snapped out of his musings as blaster fire once more peppered his hiding place behind what had once been the side of a market stall. The wood was no match for the assault and Peter was forced to bolt for cover as the wood collapsed. He returned fire, forcing his opponents to dodge and giving him just enough time to dive behind an overturned metal cart. It didn't take him long to realize that his newest refuge was already occupied when a familiar and angry voice yelled at him.

"What the hell did you do this time Quill?!" Rocket shouted over the sound of blaster fire, his own large gun smoking slightly at the barrel.

"Nothing!" Peter shouted back, only to receive a disbelieving look from his ring-tailed comrade. "No, seriously! I didn't do anything this time! Besides it's your fault we even came here in the first place!" The Terran said indignantly as he leaned around the corner of their hiding place to get a few shots off at their attackers.

And he was telling the truth. Earlier that day they had decided to make a quick stop on Kalor, a well-populated desert planet, that Rocket swore had the best black market this side of the quadrant. So they had all left the _Milano_ to shop and stretch their legs. Groot (who was still too small to leave his pot) stayed with the spacecraft happily listening to Awesome Mix #2, Drax had gone to drink, fight and eventually get banned from the nearest bar, while Gamora, Peter and Rocket went to buy supplies and parts. To Peter's surprise the racoon hadn't been kidding, this black market really was a place where you could find anything for the right price.

Kalor was just beyond the borders of Nova Core jurisdiction, so people openly sold their illegal wares in wooden stalls under the blazing suns with no fear of the law. After all in this kind of place where no law, except the kind you made yourself, existed. Unfortunately this meant that there were plenty of people who lived outside the law on Kalor, including Ronan supporters. At first Peter didn't realize that he had been recognised, until he noticed people were whispering 'Star-Lord' and discreetly pointing at him as he walked by. At first he preened in the attention, he had after all been trying for years to get his moniker to be better known around the Galaxy, but then he noticed the glares from a mixed group of aliens standing at the corner of the street.

One particular glare stood out from a Repzoid, a large reptile-like humanoid that made Drax look short, who's yellow eyes followed Peter like a piece of meat. Peter pretended not to notice the hostile stares of the clique and hurried to catch up with Rocket, who was arguing prices with a merchant about a dozen yards away. He never made it that far, as a larger presence suddenly loomed behind him and a large, scaly, three fingered hand clamped down on his shoulder. Peter was forcibly turned around, nearly losing his balance in the process, and had to look almost straight up to look the angry Repzoid in the eyes.

"Are you the one they call Star-Lord?" The reptile man snarled, giving Peter a good look at his fangs which quite honestly he thought badly needed to be brushed.

"Star-Lord?" Peter asked trying his best to sound honestly puzzled as the rest of the Repzoid's friends started approaching as well. "Isn't he that guy who helped kill Ronan, save the Galaxy, and somehow hold an Infinity Stone? Said to be roguishly handsome and have really awesome dance skills?" Peter couldn't help the cocky grin that found its way onto his face.

"Yesss," The Repzoid hissed, his eyes narrowing to glare down at Peter.

Peter just shrugged and gave the reptile his best innocent look, "Nope, sorry man you got the wrong Terran. Now if you'll excuse me." It wasn't his smartest move, turning his back to the Repzoid, but since he didn't have his coat it allowed for him to more discreetly reach for his blaster.

In that moment several things happened simultaneously; Peter's hand closed around the handle of his blaster, he could see from where he was standing Rocket turn to look at him and could see the racoon's expression shift and reach for the gun on his back, and more worryingly he heard the Repzoid swiftly move and the soft click of a gun's safety being turned off right behind his head.

"This is for Ronan, die Terran scum!" The reptile man shouted.

Peter only had time to think 'oh shit' and make a nose dive for the ground, the shot from the Repzoid's blaster singeing the hairs on the back of his neck as it passed and the world dissolved into chaos.

Which was how he wound up pinned by blaster fire behind a metal cart with Rocket cursing colorfully beside him. Peter blamed the racoon of course, because he shouldn't have recommended this market in the first place obviously. The human dared to peek around the edges of the cart, only to have to duck back down quickly to avoid having his head shot off. The crowds had already run for the hills, leaving only their attackers scattered in various positions but it was obvious they were only following the lizard-like man's lead. The Repzoid was still standing almost right in the middle of the street, dodging gun fire with inhuman speed for such a large being, with the remains of several stalls of goods lying around his large clawed feet.

"Where the hell is Gamora when you need her?!" Rocket shouted angrily as he turned his gun on their attackers once more.

Gamora had stopped about half a street behind them to inspect a stall of Jadis jewellery, and Peter knew that she had likely already heard the commotion, was on her way, and knew that they were the cause of it. Heck, they were being loud enough that it was likely Drax was on his way as well, after all the big blue brute was attracted to a good fight like a fly to honey. An idea came to Peter's mind as he quickly inspected where the Repzoid was still shooting at them from among the ruins of several stalls.

Peter turned to Rocket as the racoon paused to reload, "I think I have a plan."

Rocket eyed him cautiously before asking, "What percentage of a plan?" Man, they were never going to let him live that down were they?

Peter wiggled his hand side to side, "About twenty-five point eight percent, give or take?"

Rocket hesitated for a moment, but the return of heavy fire hitting their meager cover seemed to make up his mind for him. The racoon swore, cocked his gun and returned fire before turning back to Peter and snarling, "Fine! But this better work understand?" Obviously displeased if the way his fuzzy ears (and they were fuzzy even if saying so would get you shot) were pinned back flat against his skull.

Peter nodded, readied his gun and braced himself, "Give me some heavy cover fire, but leave the Repzoid to me." And before Rocket could protest or Peter could change his mind he threw himself out from behind the cart and into the fray.

Despite his surprise at Peter's unexpected move Rocket did a really good job keeping the Repziod's friends busy by peppering them with gun fire. The lizard man in question however, focussed immediately on Peter and fired at the Terran wildly, which the human was fortunately just able to avoid. Ducking from cover to cover Peter quickly covered ground and with a final burst of speed and several blasts from his gun charged the Repzoid. This of course was a surprise to the much larger reptile-like humanoid, because any sane being would usually want to keep a physically stronger opponent at a distance.

Let it never be said that Peter Quill is a sane being.

This momentary surprise however was exactly what Peter was counting on, because that split second of hesitation allowed him enough time to get off several close shots at the Repzoid, which were too close for the alien to dodge. The lizard man was still able to avoid most of the blasts but one caught the edge of a clawed hand and sent his blaster flying. Snarling as his gun went flying and instead of trying to reach for it, the reptile alien instead lashed out at Peter with his claws. The Terran ducked under the swing and by using his momentum rolled through the legs of his oversized opponent.

Peter fumbled for a moment, finding his balance just as his hand closed around the metal of a particular item from one of the blown apart stalls. However that moment was just enough time for the tables to turn and the Repzoid to wrap his scaly arms around Peter in a crushing parody of a hug. Gasping for air Peter was lifted off his feet as he accidently dropped his blaster and felt the Repzoid's claws dig deep into his arms, which were pinned to his sides with his back pressed against the lizard's chest. Peter still had the item he needed to end this clenched in his fist but now had no way to get it closer to the enemy and still get away.

Despite the fact he was being deprived of air the human had a surprisingly good view of the battle ground from where he was. He could see Gamora (when had she shown up?) and Rocket raining hell down on the few remaining attackers. He even had a front row seat to Drax's dramatic entrance, by beheading a guy with yellow skin who was trying to stab Gamora while she was distracted. However Peter was reminded that he wasn't there to see the view by the burning in lungs and the Repzoid hissing in his ear.

"Today must be my lucky day, I've heard Terran is quite the delicacy." The lizard man snarled and bared his fangs next to Peter's face.

With a jolt Peter realized that the bastard was going to kill him by literally biting his head off. He was so sick of the 'I'm-going-to-eat-you' threat that instead of scaring him the words only further pissed him off. Peter scowled and with what little air he had left gasped, "E-eat this a-asshole."

With a jerk of his legs Peter managed to kick the lizard in the balls, which had the Repzoid reflexively loosening his arms, freeing Peter, and opening his fanged mouth to gasp in surprise. Simultaneously Peter shoved his hand, the one that had earlier picked up a small class grenade from one of the smashed boxes on the ground, into the fanged mouth by his head and pulled the pin as he dropped to the ground and quickly rolled away.

The Repzoid didn't even have time to blink in surprise before the explosive went off with a bang and spattered Peter in its blood and brain matter. The Repzoid's body dropped lifelessly to the hot sand and the rest of the attackers, seeing that their leader was dead, swiftly fled. With a groan Peter picked himself up off the ground, sore and bleeding slightly, but more or less ok. The same of which could not be said for his shirt which was now covered in thick green-black blood or the wrecked market street around him.

The human gazed for a moment in surprise at the sheer destruction around him before shooting his comrades a wary grin. It was easy to hear Rocket swearing up a storm about dumb Terran's stupid plans. But Peter's attention was on Gamora, as she glared as she marched across the battlefield, quite likely planning on giving him the longest tongue-lashing of his life. However, Peter noticed something was wrong, because he was sure that his shirt was not supposed to be smoking. It took a second before Peter realized what was happening and scrambled to rip his shirt off without having to touch it too much. He had forgotten that Repzoid blood was extremely acidic and now his shirt was covered in it.

Thankfully he was quick enough so that nothing had burned through to his skin and he tossed the now useless scrap of cloth on the dusty ground without a second thought. With a sigh Peter mourned the loss of one of his few good shirts and looked back up to prepare himself for the verbal thrashing he was due for, but to his surprise it never came. Gamora's expression, which had only seconds before been one of anger and frustration, had melted into one of surprise and borderline shock. Confused, Peter looked over Gamora's shoulder toward Rocket and Drax, but they had similar expressions as they simply stared at Peter.

"What?" Peter asked defensively, not understanding why they were looking at him so strangely. Had they expected him to wear the now acidic shirt? "I know I'm hot with all these rippling muscles guys but really you don't have to stare." He said trying and failing to use humor to get them to snap out of it.

Gamora seemed to recover first, but she still stared as she spoke. "Peter, it's not that- How did- Where did you get those?" She asked using her eyes to gesture toward his torso.

Peter looked down at his chest and suddenly it clicked as to why they were looking at him so strangely and he was suddenly very self-conscious. It wasn't him they were looking at, _it was his scars_.

True fact: Terrans apparently have very delicate skin compared to most other alien species. It was a fact that Peter could attest to, though he'd never admit to having a _delicate_ anything. However the truth was hard to ignore because Peter had seen other species walk away from situations without so much as a bruise that would have had him a bleeding mess many times. Heck even now Drax had just walked into a fire fight without a shirt and was absolutely fine, while Peter was all but scratched to pieces. So yes, Peter had more than a few marks on his sorry hide from a dangerous life of thieving and adventuring and none of them were very pretty.

Peter shifted uncomfortably under his friend's scrutiny; the urge to try and hide his scars was just as pointless as it was useless. They could already see them and he had nothing to cover them with, so naturally Peter tried to blow off their concern like it was nothing to salvage his pride.

"What? These?" Peter asked faking nonchalance as he gestured to the various pale and puckered reminders of old wounds. "Nothing much, just a few souvenirs."

His attempt to both lighten the mood and subtly get them to drop the subject didn't work.

"Souvenirs? _Souvenirs?! _Are you fucking kidding me Quill? You look like you've been though a damn war zone! What the shit happened to you?" Rocket snarled strangely agitated over what to Peter was something very small.

The Terran scowled as he became defensive, "It doesn't matter ok? They're just scars, now can we get out of here and go back to the ship before somebody comes and tries to make us pay for all this shit?"

Peter then turned his back to them and kneeled to grab his blaster but froze when he heard them gasp at the sight of his back and shoulders.

_'__Crap, I forgot about the ones on my back.' _Peter mentally cursed and wished he had a really strong drink right about then.

Straightening with gun in hand Peter swiftly started walking back toward the ship, though he could hear his friends walking behind him and feel their gazes all but boring into his back. The short walk back was silent, but full of tension, and Peter was relieved when he entered his ship. Immediately he directed himself toward his room, fully planning on grabbing a shirt and maybe hiding in there for a few days or until everyone forgot to ask about his scars. But that plan of actions was abruptly cut off when Gamora grabbed his shoulder in a gentle grip that was firm enough to let him know that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Peter we need to t-" But Peter cut her off before she could finish.

"There's nothing to talk about really. That Repzoid just recognised that I was Star-Lord and wanted to even the score for killing Ronan." Peter said monotonously as he refrained from turning around, he really didn't want to see the look in their eye.

"Peter you know that's not what I mean," Gamora said sternly before sighing when Peter neither looked at her nor replied.

"Come on, we need to treat those injuries before they get infected," The green skinned female muttered and lightly tugged Peter toward the common area of the ship. An action which jolted Peter from his thoughts and reminded him of the sluggishly bleeding cuts on his upper arms from the Repzoid's claws.

Peter was pushed down into a chair and told not to move as his team mates went into a small flurry of action. Within moments Drax was flying the _Milano _back into orbit, Rocket had retrieved Groot from their shared bunk and filled the small plant humanoid in on what had happened, and Gamora was treating the claw marks on Peter's arms with surprising gentleness. All this happened without Peter meeting the eyes of his comrades or even trying to speak, which of course was highly unusual for the loudmouthed Terran.

Once they were on a course away from Kalor the other three males of the group seemed to hang back slightly. They stayed at the doorway, not looking at Peter or even at one another, but the human knew with certainty they were listening, and the cautious hovering just served to set him slightly on edge because damn it there was nothing to talk about. Ignoring the tension in the air Gamora simply continued her ministrations on his wounds.

Slowly, as if approaching a dangerous animal Gamora's hands finished with his cuts and cautiously brushed a ragged cut that ran along his bicep. In a low voice that Peter, who was sitting right in front of her, barely heard she asked, "Where did this one come from?"

For the first time since arriving back at the ship Peter looked her in the eye with a blank expression, trying to understand the expression she had on her face and the faces of the others who stood behind her.

Peter didn't understand. All his life since joining the Ravagers he had been cussed out for the inherent weaknesses of his species. He could recall many times when he had come back injured from a mission and scorned for weeks afterwards for slowing the others down. A few had even suggested to Yondu to toss him out the air lock, to which Yondu replied with a few swift ass kickings and no one dared suggest such a thing again. However Peter could still recall the scathing looks of contempt on each face that saw his wounds, which was why he preferred and learned how to treat himself.

This was why he didn't want his team seeing his scars. First of all he didn't see how it was any of their business, and second he was worried (not scared) that they would take one look at how easily he could be broken and no longer want him for a leader. However to his great surprise as he looked carefully at his comrades it wasn't pity or scorn at his weakness he was seeing in their gazes, it was empathy and something much fiercer. Determination, because they wanted to know how he had gotten his scars so they could either take revenge or ensure it never happened again.

Peter sighed this time letting some of the tension drain from his shoulders, fighting back a grin at the warm feelings he could sense in his chest. There were only two possibilities for the sensation; he was either coming down with a horrible alien disease or, somehow these people were turning him into an emotional teenage girl.

He hoped it was the former.

Peter looked down at the scar Gamora was tracing lightly with her fingertips, "I got that one when I was nicked with blaster fire when I was fourteen."

There was an almost palpable release of tension in the air, and the almost-a-smile that Gamora gave him made the admission worth it. The others drew a little closer, curiosity likely drawing them closer as Gamora's hands moved to another scar.

So without being asked Peter told them the short stories behind each scar as Gamora went from one to the next. The bullet wound on his shoulder from a trade gone bad, the slash just above his navel from a Ravager that wanted to gut and eat him, the burns on his chest from an engine explosion. The hardest to speak of were the ones on his back. There were puckered scars from a shrapnel bomb that had very nearly taken his life when he was sixteen. Then ragged tears from when he had been caught by a slave ring, it had taken Yondu a week to find him but not before the slave master had tried to 'teach' Peter a lesson.

It wasn't long before the others were showing a few of their battle scars (fewer and less impressive than his own but the stories were interesting) and laughing at a smallish scratch that Drax had on his foot from his first knife. Peter was quietly amazed as he looked at each of his team. They didn't see him as weak, in fact Drax had declared that scars were a symbol of bravery in his culture and that Peter would be seen as the bravest of warriors on his planet. However it was the silent look of promise in each of their eyes that truly helped Peter understand. Though nothing was said, he knew that they didn't think him weak and would never leave him over something so silly as a few scars. After all, not all scars are so close to the surface as his own.

So maybe, just maybe, he could learn to trust these crazy lunatics he found himself stuck with, at least for a little while.

**Good, Bad, OOC? Tell me what you think! Review, because the bunnies demand it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**BUNNIES! BUNNIES EVERYWHERE! They want your prompts and ideas! Don't forget to Enjoy, Read and Review!**

* * *

><p>Groot was bored.<p>

It was to be expected really, after all he may be a plant based species but the difference was that he was from a _sentient_ plant based species. So just like any other thinking, feeling, living being forced to be confined to a small pot of soil due to their body having to slowly regenerate, Groot was understandably bored out of his mind. Unfortunately for the presently tiny Flora Colossus his team mates had conveniently forgotten that even though Groot's brain consisted of wood, he still needed stimulation just like everyone else.

(Technically his brain matter consisted of an entire interneuron network of highly tensile and freely regenerating photosynthesis based cells throughout his entire body, but that was beside the point.)

Groot sighed once more as he twisted his limbs slightly to help his newly formed foliage to catch a little sunlight from his position on the table where he had been forgotten. Thinking back to a time before he had met Rocket, Groot had often been misjudged and treated cruelly because many assumed he was stupid. Groot didn't blame them, but in those days he was often very frustrated with his inability to communicate due to his species naturally stiff vocal cords and limited speech. Of course those that thought of Groot as slow couldn't be more wrong. He was in fact very intelligent, just unfortunately limited by the inherent restrictions of his species.

And then he and Rocket had found each other and the rest was mostly history. Through Rocket Groot had finally found a translator and a friend who could break down the language barrier that he was surrounded by (even if the small mammal sometimes translated a little… liberally). There were still misunderstandings of course, like the botched capture that had wound them in the Kyln. When Rocket had told Groot to grab 'him' and he had accidently grabbed Gamora instead. (Which really wasn't his fault because Flora Colossus's don't differentiate between male and female.) Nowadays the main focus of Groot's life was regenerating and growing back into his old self. He was still just a little shorter than Rocket and still had more than a few holes in his memory and pools of knowledge, leading him to have slightly more child-like behaviour. A problem that would fix itself as he photosynthesized previously learned information and grew to return to his usual large self.

Normally Groot wouldn't have been left alone, since in his diminutive state he was much more vulnerable and his team had become almost unexpectedly protective of him. In fact Rocket and Drax had been in the middle of quite the heated argument over who was going to water him next, when the space station they were currently fueling up at rocked violently and a very loud explosion could be heard outside. Screams had been heard in the distance as Gamora reported over the ship's intercom that the station was being attacked by Ravangers and it looked like some civilians were in danger.

Peter had cursed colorfully about how he hadn't expected Yondu to catch up so fast and quite expectedly run from the Milano to help. Even more predictable was how quickly the entire team dropped what they were doing and ran after their moronic leader to ensure he didn't get himself killed. That is, every team member with exception of Groot of course. Groot understood logically why he had been left behind; many people were in danger and they needed everyone's help. And since he couldn't move on his own let alone fight it was dangerous for him to leave the ship. However that didn't make staying any easier emotionally as his friends were charging into danger just outside and he had no choice but to remain behind. For just a moment Groot truly hated being so small and wished greatly for his previous strength, being completely bored out of his wooden head was simply the proverbial cherry on top.

Groot sighed once more and turned back toward the sunlight, but just as he began to relish the feeling of warmth soaking into his leaves a loud banging noise could be heard from the entrance of the spacecraft. Groot turned toward the hallway from which he could hear the echoes of the main hatch being rattled from the outside. The little tree-man wondered for a moment if the others had accidently locked themselves out again when Groot heard a loud 'bang' that sounded like a single high powered blaster shot. Within seconds Groot could hear several unknown voices and pairs of boots enter the spacecraft, speaking loudly and coming straight toward the main common area and straight toward Groot.

For a split second Groot nearly panicked knowing full well that this wouldn't end well for him if he was noticed, but he didn't have the ability to move from his pot. So the little Flora Colossus did the only thing he could think of, he closed his eyes and froze to be as still as any other non-sentient potted plant. Thankfully with his eyes shut he looked the part as well since at that same moment several Ravengers all dressed in red coats similar to Peter's walked into the room. Not a one of them gave the small potted plant in the middle of the table that they stood beside a second glance as they began to speak to each other loudly. Groot subtly cracked one eye open just a little so he could get a good look at the intruders.

"Why did we follow Malkin here again?" A particularly ugly man with completely black eyes and sharp quills instead of hair whispered to another, but he was heard by the one Groot assumed to be the leader, Malkin.

The humanoid in charge was quite tall, at least head and shoulders over his comrades, with sallow yellow skin and a trunk-like nose that hung past his chin. Groot didn't know what species of alien he was but he immediately knew that he didn't like him.

Malkin narrowed his eyes at the quilled man and snarled, "'Cause I told ya to, that's why. We all know th' boss goes too easy on that Terran brat of 'is. That little d'astard needs t' be taught a lesson, an' if Yondu ain't going t' do it then we will."

Malkin's little speech was met with numerous nods and vicious smirks. Obviously Peter wasn't very popular with this part of Yondu's crew, and it didn't surprise Groot that the Terran had a horrible habit of both making friends and enemies in equal measure. So, encouraged by the small group that had chosen to follow him Malkin started giving orders.

"You two," Malkin gestured at two gray skinned Torvic's. "Ya work in engineerin' right? You trash th' engine room. Wreck whatcha want but don't make this bird flightless, jus' rewire it fur a hidden surprise when they try ta land nex' time." Malkin chuckled darkly joined by the rest of the men.

This of course only served to make Groot angry. Normally Groot was quite calm and gentle however these men were talking about destroying the ship that both he and Rocket had gotten comfortable in and now considered home. Not to mention that these trespassers were insulting his friends, his small makeshift family, and that made Groot's normally long patience quickly snap. Had any of the intruding Ravangers been even slightly observant they might have noticed the small potted plant they had over-looked slowly start sprouting thorns. At the very least they _should_ have noticed the slightly murderous aura emanating from it, but they simply continued talking and digging their graves even deeper.

"An' then you two," Malkin then pointed to the quill-haired man and a larger being with a blue swollen looking face. "Go an' ruin their rooms. Whatever ya don't wanna take make sure ya break, that should keep 'em from noticing our present in th' engine room till it's too late. Th' rest of us," Malkin indicated himself and the last two beings, both pearly skinned Barjun's. "Will go upstairs t' the control room an' get everythin' else. Alrigh' then, everyone know their job? Then get goin'! We gotta be outta here afore they come back!"

So with that final shout the invading Ravengers scattered, four of them going deeper into the ship while Malkin and the two Barjun's move toward the command room. Within moments Groot was once more alone in the main living area all but trembling with anger at the idiots who wanted to hurt his friends and wreck the _Milano_. There was no way that he was going to stand for this, he had to do something! For a moment Groot glared at the pot that kept him immobile before an idea bloomed in his mind.

Even though he was small Groot still had some regeneration ability, sure it was diminished and left him weaker the more he used it but he could still grow limbs and such for short periods of time. So with a small grunt of effort and a great deal of focus Groot grew four long vines from his main stem. Then by carefully using those vines in a four legged-like manner he slowly lifted himself, pot and all, up from the table top and onto the floor.

"I am Groot," he chuckled ain his tiny squeaky voice and curled his little hands in to fists, while his almond brown eyes sparkled with mischievousness.

At least he wasn't bored anymore.

Groot's first target was the engine room. Sure Rocket would be able to fix anything that those idiots managed to break and undo any traps that they could possibly imagine with both eyes closed. However Groot had a plan, and in order to carry it out he needed the engine room. So with surprising speed Groot scurried down the corridor on his vines toward the very back of the _Milano_. The little Flora Colossus slowed and listened to the bangs and thumps coming from within the room for a moment before peeking around the corner.

The two short gray skinned Torvic's were standing with their backs toward Groot, muttering to each other about how best to rig the landing gear to break. Quietly with one vine he picked up a screw that was laying innocently on the floor and tossed it over the pair's heads and around the corner of the engine. The small noise caught the attention of the two Torvic's and with a mutter about lazy craftsmanship one of them walked around the engine to see what had fallen off. Groot could have laughed it was so easy.

Soundlessly Groot entered the room and got right behind the first Torvic, and using one of his vine-like legs struck the being right where the head and neck connected. The Torvic collapsed, unconscious, hitting the floor with a muffled thump that attracted the second Torvic. Acting quickly Groot wrapped his 'leg' around the second Torvic's gray face and used his entire body weight to slam it's head into the nearest pipe and join its comrade in slumber.

Groot staggered slightly, panting from the exertion and reminded himself that he no longer had the strength of his previous body. He needed to be sneaky if he was going to defend his home. So keeping that in mind the little Flora Colossus wandered over to the generator and with one flip of a switch sent the _Milano _into complete darkness. Groot couldn't help but snicker slightly as after a moment or two the emergency lights came on and Malkin shouted over the overhead intercom.

"What the heck ya two idiots doin' down there?! Yur supposed ta be riggin' th' engine not playin' with th' lights! Get back ta frakken work ya lazy bums!" Malkin shouted before turning off the intercom.

Groot chuckled darkly in the now dim and gloomy lighting as he used his vines to nimbly work off a grate and slipped into the vents. It was a bit of a tight fit, even for the small sentient plant but he could fit and move quite quickly. Groot just hoped he could get to the rooms before the two men had gone into Gamora's room, because if not then he was likely doing them a favor by getting them before she did. It wasn't long before Groot was in the ventilation shafts right along the corridor that led to all of their rooms and two voices could be heard.

"Jeez this guy has a lot of knifes," a voice that Groot recognised as coming from the quill-haired man whispered nervously.

The only response that Groot could hear was a grunt of what might have been agreement from whom he guessed might be the swollen faced humanoid, coming from Rocket's and Groot's shared bunk. Groot was glad that he had gotten here before they tried to destroy anything, Rocket would have been greatly upset and Drax would have torn out their spines. For just a moment Groot pondered the idea of leaving these two for his teammates, but immediately discarded the notion. Sure it would be fun to watch but the end result would be messy at best and destructive to the _Milano _at worst, and Groot was trying to save his home not wreck it further.

"I wish they'd turn on the lights again, I can hardly see and it's creepy in here. I'm going to stab my self at this rate." Quill-head complained as he tried to see through the shadows to find anything of Drax's worth keeping.

Groot smiled in the vent just overhead of the quill haired man and reached one of his vines out to rattle the pipe beside him. It made quite a nice hissing and metal groaning sound, that echoed through the duct work in just the right way to almost sound like a moan. The effect it had was even better, since the man just below Groot yelped and scurried from Drax's room and into Rocket's thinking a threat was near. Groot noiselessly moved his position so he was over both the men now just in time to hear the quilled man whisper fearfully.

"Did you hear that?"

The swollen faced man looked impassively at his quilled companion with a bored expression before turning away to look at Rocket's workbench.

"Ya, ya your right. It's probably just the ship settling, nothing to worry about." The quilled haired man muttered and ran a hand over his head, but it did nothing to quell his nerves.

Acting quickly Groot reached out his vine legs and grew several offshoots from them so that he had a vine or two in each wall. With one he rattled another pipe while simultaneously tapping another against the wall making it sound like invisible fingers. It didn't take much for the few small sounds, the dark and the two men's imaginations to scare them. Even the seemingly passive swollen faced alien seemed alarmed at the strange invisible scurrying, tapping and moaning noises they could hear coming from all around and in the walls. The quilled haired humanoid was quickly hyperventilating, his dark eyes rolling in panic.

Groot continued to tap the walls as he brought two of his vines back to him and prepared to strike as the two men stood back-to-back instinctually. The second the men were exactly where the little Flora Colossus wanted them Groot stopped his drumming vines and for a second there was complete and total silence in the room, except for frightened gasping. In an instant one vine struck the blue skinned puffy faced alien from the vent above, wrapping around his throat and dragging the man up off his feet. The quilled haired man screamed in a pitch Groot had previously thought impossible for a male of any species and ran for the door.

He never go far, since the other vine that Groot had ready snapped like a whip and launched a thorn into the back of the mans exposed neck. The heavy tranquilising substance on the thorn tip dropped the man almost instantly and the quilled haired man fell gracelessly onto his face in the hall. The blue skinned humanoid struggled silently for a few moments, his legs kicking air uselessly before the lack of oxygen finally became too much and he went limp. Groot dropped the man, not wanting to kill him but to send a message.

"I am Groot." _Four down three to go_, Groot muttered to himself as he eased himself carefully from the overhead vent and onto the floor.

There was no hesitation as Groot stepped over the two unconscious bodies and made his way down the hall toward the command room. Unfortunately for Groot the only way up to the control room was a set of steep stairs, and walking on four vines with his main body balanced precariously in the middle was hard enough. Doing so while climbing stairs and being quiet at the same time was problematic but the little Flora Colossus managed it. Mostly because the whispered argument of the three Ravengers in the room above covered any noise that he made unintentionally.

Groot peeked cautiously over the edge of the stairs and was pleased to see that the two Barjun's had heard the Quilled-haired man's scream and now wanted to leave. The trio was now beginning to shout at each other as Malkin snarled at his associates trying to intimidate the nervous Barjun's. Which only provided the perfect distraction for Groot to dart over into the shadows of the nearest wall. With a mischievous smirk Groot grabbed a cable from the wall and darted to the opposite side of the room, hiding his trap in the gloom.

"Tha's enough!" Malkin shouted and grabbed one of the smaller Barjun's by the shirt and lifted the smaller huminoid from his feet. "We ain't leavin' jus' 'cause ya got cold feet, ya soft skinned-"

But Malikin's tirade was interrupted by a loud, terrifying, shrill scream directly behind him, coming from the captain's chair. Makin instinctively dropped the now scared Barjun and all three beings yelled in surprise. In the time it took Malkin to turn around the Barjun pair were tripping over each other in their rush for the exit. Unfortunately for them in the dark they couldn't see the cable that Groot had set as a trip wire at the top of the stairs, sending both of them falling head over heels down the steep stairway.

"I am Groot," The little Flora Colossus said smugly from his seat in the captain's chair, where he held the intercom microphone up to one of the speakers, which had created the feedback loop that had sounded like a scream.

Malkin stared in shock, his long trunk-like nose almost dangling into his open mouth before understand crossed his expression and his face changed to one of rage.

"Why ya little d'astard," Makin snarled and approached slowly, menacingly. "I'm going ta rip ya apart an' use what's left for matches!"

Groot narrowed his eyes at the man, his normally docile nature disappearing in an instant.

"I. AM. GROOT!" The little Flora Colossus roared back.

* * *

><p>(A little while later)<p>

"Well that was stupid."

"Yes Rocket, we know."

"No I mean seriously! Who tries to blow up an entire frakken space station just so they can deliver a punch to the face and then gets gone without so much as a; 'That's for screwing me over with the infinity stone.' ?"

"Well that's how Yondu deals with his emotions ok?" Peter sighed, prodding gently at the black eye Yondu had delivered to him personally. Peter had honestly expected worse from his former boss.

"Explains a lot about you actually," Rocket snickered snidely under his breath, causing the others to chuckle tiredly.

The fight might have been small but it had been fierce. Really all Yondu had done was cause a little superficial damage to the infrastructure and scare the locals a bit to attract the Guardian's attention, then proceeded to punch Peter and left soon after. The only thing the Ravenger Captain had said was a firm; 'Ya owe me one kid,'. Rocket opened his mouth to make yet another comment but suddenly froze at the sight of the _Milano_, eyes going wide. The others also came to a sudden stop at the sight of the damaged and wide open entrance hatch of the spaceship. Without a word Rocket took off like a shot, the others not far behind.

"GROOT!" Rocket shouted, a tiny sliver of panic creeping in at the edges of his voice, but no one was about to comment on it.

Dropping to all fours for some added speed the ring-tailed comrade sped down the brightly lit hall of the ship and careened around the corner into the main living area where they had left Groot. Rocket froze once more, his jaw dropping, this time in surprise as behind him the rest of the Guardians also came clambering into the room and stopped in shock.

Groot stood serenely in the middle of the table where they had left him, opening his soft brown eyes sleepily and cheerily waving one of his little arms in greeting.

The only thing different in the room was the pile of six unconscious and very beaten up Ravengers on the floor. However the most arresting new feature of the room was the large, comatose, yellow skinned Ravenger with a trunk-like nose dangling from the ceiling by his ankles on Groot's other extended arm. The Guardian's could only stare as Rocket shook off his surprise and laughed a rare, real laugh.

"That's my buddy boy!" The racoon declared with what could have been pride.

Groot smiled, "I am Groot!"

* * *

><p><strong>(Snaps fingers in a Z formation) Ain't nobody messes with little!Groot, ain't nobody! Well it feels good to get that out of my system. Let's face it everyone loves Groot, and if you don't then I'm sorry we can't be friends. I'm seriously considering doing a Rocket one next, don't worry I have one planned for each Guardian but I'm totally open to any and all prompts from you guys! I certainly need some for Drax and Gamora. I even have a little bunny that temporarily throws in one of my human OC's from one of my Transformers stories. *Goes starry-eyed thinking about a GotG and Transformers crossover* No! BAD BUNNIES! I have enough to write without adding a crossover! (beats bunnies back with a newspaper) So what'd you guys think of that? Good? Bad? Needs more Dragons? Let me know in the comments below! Up, up and away!<strong>


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